Rating: 
Summary: The Widow's Kiss
Review: "The Widow's Kiss" is more a novel of romantic intrigue than it is a mystery -- for some reason several bookstores I visited over the weekend had this book in the mystery section. So if you a big historical mystery addict, be forewarned that there is very little mystery in this novel at all. However, the book does score very high on the suspense/intrigue level.The plot of "The Widow's Kiss" centers around a land dispute. Hugh of Beaucaire believes that a vast tract of land should rightfully be his son's; the Lady Guinevere Mallory however disputes his claim and refuses to give up the land. So Hugh decides to tweak the interest of the King of England (Henry VIII), and that of the Privy Seal (Thomas Cromwell), by insinuating that the Lady Guinevere may have killed off all her previous husbands (4 in all) in order to inherit their wealth. The Privy Seal sends off Hugh to investigate. Right from the very beginnning however Hugh is drawn to the Lady Guinevere, as she is to him. However he does not fully trust her. But by the time Hugh finally decides that he doesn't really care if Guinevere murdered her latest husband or not, it is too late: he has set in motion events he can do nothing about; for now the Privy Seal is involved and he wants Guinevere's wealth for the Crown. The second half of the book, where Guinevere has to defend herself to the King and the Privy Seal is brilliant and realistic. The tension is palpable and electric. You can actually sense the very real danger that the Lady Guinevere is facing and her complete isolation from everyone she cares about or who could help. Both the King and the Privy Seal are painted in appropriate menacing terms. The feeling of attraction that Hugh and Guinevere feel for each other even while they do not fully trust each other is believeable as well. So why did I give this book a 3 star rating? Because of the rushed last few chapters which gave the book a slightly of centre feel. This is a historical romance, so I understand that one cannot expect twentieth century sensibilities; however I do wish that there had been an added chapter or even a few extra pages where Hugh castigates himself a little bit more for his treatment of Guinevere -- this would have made the book more satisfying for me, and I do believe it would have centred the book a bit more. Jane Feather is a wonderful writer; "Valentine"; "Vixen" & "The Accidental Bride" are a few of her books that I enjoy rereading every now and then. And I enjoyed "The Widow's Kiss" as well except for the pacing that was a little off. "The Widow's Kiss" is on the whole a good read, esp at the intrigue level. The rushed ending is a little disconcerting but does not detract form the overall enjoyment of the book. All in all, a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than I thought it would be
Review: After I bought this book, I checked the reviews of it and thought I would be disappointed. But I really enjoyed this book. In fact, its the best I've read in a while. While other readers didn't like some (or all) of the characters, I did. The hero and herione were not perfect, but actually very believable. Neither were they young, both had been happily married before (to varying degrees). Both had offspring from these marriages who were integral to the story. I sometimes had to take a break from reading because I found myself really getting angry or saddened by the events in the story.
Rating:
Summary: An unforgettable romance
Review: By 1537, King Henry learns that twenty-eight-year-old Lady Guinevere Mallory has been a widow four times, an excessive amount of husbands buried. However, what concerns His Highness is the legal marriage contracts have made her the prime owner of most of the wealth in the Derbyshire area. Wondering if he has a black widow among his aristocracy and worried that one person owns so much property, the monarch assigns Hugh of Beauclaire to investigate. Hugh informs King Henry that he has a personal interest in a piece of property that Mallory owns which he claims should be his. When Hugh meets Guinevere, he is stunned by her beauty and even more shocked by how brilliant the woman is. Worse to Hugh in spite of his belief she is a deadly killer; he is very attracted to the woman. Guinevere tries to protect her own heart because she knows Hugh wants to hand her head over to Henry. As the duo fight the growing love between them, their mistrust of one another grows proportionally. WIDOW'S KISS is a wonderful historical romance that succeeds because the characters seem genuine. The lead protagonists provide conflict, as neither trusts the love that is emanating from the other. Guinevere's daughters add a young energy that makes life even more complex and difficult for Hugh. The King and his key advisor provide a historical point of reference as well as added intrigue, tension, and mistrust. Although the climax is featherweight, sub-genre fans will relish this fabulous novel that proves Jane Feather is a heavyweight author. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: dull and offputting
Review: Hardly romantic at all. The intrigue is predictable, the love scenes descriptions of his grey pubic hair, (yuck) and endless twittering on with the chidren about kittens. The ending of the book then sets up for said children in the sequels, but why bother. A good story idea which could have been executed a lot better with more chemistry and verve.
Rating: 
Summary: A slow read, but an excellent story line!
Review: How do you average a review when you feel that the story line is fabulous and the time it takes to get through it is too slow? Everything that we want in a romance novel is here. A beautiful heroine, a strong and heroic hero, an entertaining list of supporting characters, steamy and seductive romance scenes and all of that combined with a sinister plot. It is all there. So what is wrong. It just moves too slowly in the first half of the book. Too much dilly-dallying trying to find out why a widow can possibly end up being a widow four times in eleven years. The hero, Hugh of Beaucaire, tries very hard to resist the charms of the beautiful Guinevere Mallory and in so doing, finds himself wondering if all of her husbands met their deaths because they were not careful to escape her charms when they could. The plot thickens nicely with the wondering and speculating about Guinevere's supposed guilt in the disposing of her husbands. It's also quite amusing to watch hers and his (children, that is) co-mingle. A nice touch. The reader even enjoys a smidgeon of Henry the VIII here and there. But still a long read. So with that, I average the 5 stars for plot with the 3 for delivery, and come up nicely and neatly with 4 stars. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best!
Review: I am disappointed. Her other books were so much better. The best part is her historical perspective, but her main characters are just not believable. The story is not believable. How her main characters decide they are "connected," is not even believable. Save your money and buy some of her others.
Rating: 
Summary: Revenge of the historical himbo!
Review: I am shocked to see so many good reviews of this book. Although I liked the heroine enough (most of the time) I absolutely hated the "hero" if you can call him that!
The story starts off with the "hero" petitioning the corrupt government to take money and land away from the "widow of a cousin on his uncles late wifes side" or some such connection. I was immediately reminded of the types of creeps who try to contest a will on loose connections. Worse this guy died a couple of years ago already, so you would have thought the "hero" would have moved on by now!
Nope, he convinces the crown that she may be a murderer or a witch or whatever else it may take to divest her of her money and property she has legally inherited. Promptly he heads off to her estates where he interrupts her daughters birthday party, and drags them all to London for possible execution because... well.. maybe he thinks she has it coming anyway... and he needs to ensure *his* son a future.
Now he is not totally heartless, since he likes her daughters... he will petition the king for custody of them after she is executed and even give them a proper dowry. With guys like him who needed rodents I wonder!
Well it all works out for the best it seems... (his best that is). Fortunately for all she can't resist the stirrings of lust she feels whenever she is near to the smelly brute even though he is dragging her off for her possible execution. Though frankly he seemed not even remotely interesting to me!
As she is intelligent, gloriously beautiful, and filthy rich he hastily proposes at her trial, and she has no choice but to accept his terms or be executed (leaving him her daughters and her fortune either way).... so she does. Such Chivakry! He ends up rich, and she ends up ... well alive, no longer financially independent, and married to a smelly opportunistic himbo! sigh....
Don't read this book unless you are on a male bashing frenzy. However, if you just broke up and you need something to remind you that they really are pigs, and have been throughout history, it will make an excellent read!
Rating:
Summary: Widow's Kiss
Review: I found "The Widow's Kiss" to be a wonderful story. I am an avid historical reader; I love reading stories that are rich in history and historical figures. Reading about Henry VII was truly engaging.
The way that she chose to portray her characters was interesting. I found myself indentifying with Lady Guenivere, and finding myself amused by Lord Hugh. They're both strong characters.
The one downfall of this story, I felt, was that the characters didn't seem to be as developed relationship-wise as I felt that they should be. I love this story, mind you, but I felt that their relationship developed too quickly, and wasn't thoroughly breached.
Other than the one downfall, I enjoyed the story very much.
Rating:
Summary: Unusual but intriguing.
Review: I have been a fan of Jane Feather's for quite sometime. I enjoyed this book because it dealt with an era of history that I haven't read to many historical novels about, the reign of Henry the 8th. Guinevere was an unusual heroine for her time. I did question that it took the hero too much time to see the heroine's side of things, that is a part of the story that could have been developed more. It would have also made the story more well rounded if we had been given a little more information on the Star Chamber and how it affected people in those times. All in all, though it was a good read
Rating:
Summary: Widow's Kiss
Review: I have read many historical romances and found this one two slow with too little character development. The story idea was sound, but you didn't care enough about either of the main characters. The story was slow to develop and even at the end of the book I didn't care what really happened to either of the main characters. I enjoyed the children in the book more the two main characters-not a good sign. This is the first Jane Feather book I've read, and I'm not sure if I will read another.
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